With Merownis handling the army at my back, I was left to focus on the four heavy hitters in front of me. I needed to interrupt whatever the Scorpion King was doing, then Merownis could break through the thousands of basic scorpions on his side. Thanks to my mana mixing into his attacks, I could feel the assault he was bringing to their numbers without even turning around. An echo of competition sounded and I smirked.
“Sorry, mate,” I whispered. “You’re going to have to work hard to keep up with me.” Although we were in serious danger, my confidence was high and I let the thrill of excitement bounce through me as I approached the three bodyguards. Even now, my power was recovering from the Mana Bolts I used to keep them at bay, each second of inaction a benefit for me. I could feel the larger portion of my missing mana being put to good use through the connection to Merownis.
The Scorpion Princes faced me, their silver bodies reflecting the fading sunlight as they shifted on the sands. One ruined claw between them and a lot of hesitation, it seemed it would be up to me to make the first move. My eyes flickered to my main target. In the near distance, the golden Scorpion King waited, immobile and feeding directions and strength into the masses behind me.
I did a quick run through my status before opening the second round. Manasight was working at a low level, causing the scorpions to stand out even more against the orange sand beneath them. By quickly activating Tracking, I could further keep my eye on the location of all enemies at once. The Jingu Bang had been fed a decent amount of mana, but its attention was seeming to fade. I rolled my eyes and fed it a small amount of mana regeneration, even if I wanted it all for myself. It wouldn’t suit me to have a petulant weapon.
My mana was turbulent and violent, ready to join Merownis in the slaughter. The draconic Aspect which I had finally begun to flavour my own mana with was as excited as I was. The inner world howled with winds that rustled the grassy world and swept waves onto its shores. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to hold myself back much longer. Two cheap Mana Bolts to replicate the panic I had caused a moment before acted as the starting pistol.
Unable to be more than the animals they were created from, the two stronger Scorpion Princes flinched and avoided the attack. I was already gliding forward. A Mana Shield in the sand gave me the purchase to launch myself forward, Jingu Bang raised. I moved fast, but these things were creatures of pure instinct. I barely avoided the point of the incoming stinger with a fluttering activation of Haste, twirling around the nasty appendage and slamming the staff into the prince’s side.
Serious Swing.
One of the legs was crushed, along with the defensively raised right hand claw, but I sucked my teeth anyway. A Serious Swing was not exactly like a Heavy Blow. The mana it required for the same effect was lower, and I could loop attacks together easier than before, but in return the attack was thrown at full force. If, like in this case, my attack didn’t land perfectly, I was left defenceless for a moment.
It was too much to hope such a thing wouldn’t be capitalised upon. I felt the punch in my back but more clearly than the stinger’s point, and was thrown away by the force. Rising high over the sands, I clutched at my wounded side. Before I even landed, I marshalled all of my mana and slammed it into the hip which had been targeted. Using my hands to guide even more energy into the spot, I landed with a grunt.
The princes were approaching, but I had a few seconds to try and deal with the venom. Already it was numbing the area and the arteries near the wound were turning black. I had been caught a few times by the lesser giant scorpions but the difference was astronomical. With the weaker ones, the toxin was purely biological, but the Scorpion Princes had access to magic. The burning in my side got worse, fast. The acidic nature of the attack was eating me alive.
Which was actually a positive, though I cursed myself for describing it as such. I couldn’t notice anything but the invasive mana trying to scorch through my body. With a clenched jaw, I got to work quickly. I had no skills to control blood flow in my body, but I could move mana. Most of my skills were effects created by mana moving through my channels in certain ways, which then created an effect upon the outside world. So, I couldn’t actually use Mana Shield to protect myself from the offensive mana but I could replicate the effect somewhat.
Wherever the venomous mana touched mine, it decayed the energy away, so it was a costly process to shove the aggressive poison back. If I had more time, maybe I could have been more efficient. No such grace was available to me. As it was, I left a puddle of bubbling black blood on the sand and panted. This damage was within expectations, so I wasn’t worrying just yet. I forced myself to face the truth. Definitely wouldn’t survive another few of those, though.
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Health
132/200
3.6 per minute
Mana
113/240
47 per minute
Then, I made a discovery and a mistake all at once. Just as the final particulates were being annihilated, the princes arrived to attack. The injured one was slower, though it still approached with apparent vengeance in its heart. Haste. The healthy ones plunged their stingers down, sizzling the sand when they missed me. I gasped and stopped using the speed skill.
My eyes opened wide in shock at the pain as my side began to burn once more. I struck with the Jingu Bang, catching the nearest prince on top of its stupid head. Using the durability and strength of my enemy, I lifted into the air and with another thrust of the staff, the weapon extending multiple times its length, I pushed myself high into the air and away. I barely noticed as I crashed into the sand once more.
I wasn’t looking to do damage, but the combo had slammed the level 28 Scorpion Prince deep into the sand and slowed it down. Unfortunately, my rash use of Haste had accelerated not only my own movements, but the vestiges of poison in my system. I felt the acidic shard of power scream its way towards my heart. My magical core roared in outrage, setting forth a conflagration of anger. The venom met rage, and found its fire lacking in the face of my own. I had ignored an important point in my initial panic. I was not just Grant Kaeron, bumbling mage.
Dragonburn.
The skill pattern, sitting comfortable on my chest, lit up all on its own. Focusing on what I could do with the strength of my mana, I had almost forgotten where that strength was born from. I was the stuff of dragons, my first levels gained from the life of one and my most potent magics bearing their name. I might not be able to create a Mana Shield inside myself, and the action might be inadvisable if I could, but when Haste affected the poison I realised I had a weapon. Except, it could be used as a shield, too.
Dragonburn as a skill was strange. It didn’t create an effect like the other skills, instead influencing whatever else I tried to do with my magic. As I gained more control over the mana inside, the unwieldy nature of Dragonburn was morphing into something closer to my Spirit Well. Both altered the effect of a skill. However, unlike Spirit, which I could use to change my mana in any way I could imagine, Dragonburn only had one setting.
Dominance and power.
I felt like my whole body was on fire as I began to direct my mana with the force of Dragonburn at its back. Though I was technically in control, there was an impetus behind the moving energy which seemed to say “watch this.” In a strange state of half-consciousness, I did as I was told and kept my attention on my mana. Like a brave hand around a wasp, it swept over the poison and contained it, turning the opposing mana into something I could use. The invasive mana met its match and bent to my will instead.
Of course, it was still a nasty fucking poison, so I couldn’t keep it inside. With an uncomfortable pop, a Mana Bolt appeared in my hand. The creation had cost me nothing in terms of my own mana pool, though a headache was forming from controlling the disparate mana within myself. My hand stung a little from holding the orb, but it was better than when the pain had been inside of myself. This was only a portion of the energy they had used against me, but I was more than happy to give it back.
“Now, which one of you was it?” I wondered aloud. A quick look gave me my answer, and told me the Scorpion King hadn’t moved. It was further away now, and the tendrils of dark power buried in the ground around it pulsed with energy. I needed to interrupt it as soon as possible. Though he was behind the dunes at this point, I could still feel Merownis fighting hard, but the energy I had given him was nearly out.
My target had chosen itself by having my blood on its stinger. The level 27 Scorpion Prince, flanked by the level 28 and the almost crippled level 25. Their dust clouds were thinner than before. Running out of mana are we? It was either a clever way to get me to drop my guard or the fighting wasn’t easy for any of us. Good.
Wholly unwilling to miss with this attack, I shot forward. The scorpions were happy to charge in response, but easily tricked. A flip over the Jingu Bang along with an extension of the staff vaulted me high over their incoming attacks and perfectly over the top of the Scorpion Prince. With a heave, I tossed the burning Mana Bolt straight down. Instead of the dull impact a bolt normally had, this one fizzed. The Scorpion Prince wailed and fell, the other two rearing up to fight.
Haste. Serious Swing.
Exposing their underbellies was an opportunity I wouldn’t forgive. Strolling forward so as not to strain my body with the speed, I was able to casually fall into a baseball player's batting form underneath the weaker, injured prince. Without a hint of playfulness left in me, I struck. Halfway through the strike, all on its own, the Jingu Bang stretched out and made itself much heavier for just an instant. I couldn’t help smiling, even as a stinger forced me to back up a little more.
The sight of the Scorpion Prince’s broken form sailing through the air and crashing next to the Scorpion King was just too perfect. “Yeah,” I grunted between dodges, “you’re next big guy.”